Average Western North Carolina home sale price is upOringinally published at http://www.blueridgenow.com/By Jim Wooldridge Special to Friday Homes Preview
Entrance to The Preserve at Eagle Crest-Lake Glenville, NC
Home sales in Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Haywood counties, plus an average for the 10 surrounding counties. In the first six months of 2007, the Henderson County real estate market looked like an island in an ocean of declining sales and slow movement.
The local market stood out in comparison to the 10 counties in this region of the state, including Buncombe, Transylvania and Haywood.
"Unit sales were off 3.5 percent here compared to the first half of 2006," noted Judd Richardson, president of the Hendersonville Board of Realtors, "but remember that 2006 was our second best year ever. Only 2005 was better."
He said it's possible for this season to become the third best, which would be outstanding in comparison to most markets around the nation.
Records of home sales are released monthly by the Multiple Listing Service of the Hendersonville Board of Realtors, which keeps computer data for other realty boards in the region.
Average price is up
A special feature of the first six months here was the stable price level, as shown by the ratio of the listing price to the actual closing price. In Henderson County, the average closing price was 97 percent of the price when the property was listed for sale.
Over the 10 county region, this ratio dropped 19 percent from 2006, led mainly by price cuts in Buncombe County.
Despite some price cutting after listing, the average home sold in Western North Carolina cost more than the average home sold six months ago. The average price increase over the region was 6 percent, with a 6.7 increase in Henderson and a 9.8 increase in Transylvania.
"I think the price increase in Transylvania was caused by more sales of upscale properties in the Highlands and Cashiers communities," Richardson said. "It's important that prices were higher in all counties because it shows owners are unwilling to cut prices to move their property, even in a slow market.
The main weakness in the local market was the increase in time between listing and selling. The number of days on the market increased 33 percent to 92 days in Henderson County, more than twice the increase in the region, where the average wait was 103 days.
National market is down
Hendersonville's market has remained stronger generally than the national market, which weakened significantly last year. Although unit sales fell slightly here near year end, the drop was not as severe as it was across the country.
"National sales have an effect here, because there are people who want to buy locally but can't afford to until they sell the house they are leaving," Richardson said.
How the Florida Market Effects Western North Carolina
"This is especially true of the Florida market where a lot of people sell before moving to this county," he said. "We hear improvement there is coming slowly because of the large number of listings hanging over the market."
Richardson said Florida recently passed changes to its property tax system, limiting assessment increases to 3 percent per year regardless of changes in market value.
"Compare that to our increase of 37 percent in four years, which is 9.2 percent per year," he said, adding that the local adjustment in the tax rate did not fully compensate for the increased assessment.
For more information regarding Listing or Buying Real Estate, Communities in the area, and Lots for sale mailto:info@carolinapg.com or call 888-277-2006 x2
